Last night, I put on plastic skeleton earrings and went with a big group of friends to the Cinemark Palace on the Plaza to see the third movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy: At World’s End. I was hoping the third part of the Johnny-Depp-driven series would make up for No. 2, Dead Man’s Chest, which, besides some cool special effects, sucked big hairy pirate balls.
No such luck.
If a cartoon snake – or G.I. Joe’s nemesis Cobra Commander – ever embarked on a music career, Shagrath, the frontman for Dimmu Borgir, would have to provide the vocals. I caught Dimmu at the Beaumont Club earlier this week. It was a performance I’d been looking forward to since 2004, when I discovered the band on Ozzfest’s main stage.
Obviously, Tuesday night’s show was scaled back quite a bit from the festival gig. In fact, there was hardly anything epic about the club show. The organ sounds, which are the backbone for a lot of Dimmu music, weren’t very prominent. Visually, the band didn’t seem so gothed out. Singer Shagrath’s look was more Viking than vampire.
Which isn’t to say the experience wasn’t entertaining.
It tastes like burning!
5:25 p.m. An unidentified toddler dances across the Drepung Gomang Monastery's mandala before being hustled out of Union Station by a woman, presumably the child's mother. Two days' worth of intricate sand painting is decimated in seconds, forcing eight visiting Tibetan monks to begin their task again.
5:45 p.m. Construction workers see the toddler enter the Sprint Center construction site. The toddler discovers a Zamboni hidden under a tarp and pushes it into a freshly dug sewer tunnel. The mother's car is seen peeling away; the child surfs behind it on a skateboard, holding on to a pink-and-blue rope.
5:58 p.m. Security cameras capture images of the toddler entering the Library Lofts.
6:11 p.m. Security cameras record the toddler leaving the Library Lofts with a 52-inch TV, three Nintendo Wii game consoles and a bottle of Hennessy.
6:19 p.m. The toddler attempts to deface Mayor Mark Funkhouser's car with a set of plastic toy keys. The passenger-side door falls off.
6:27 p.m. Workers flee the site of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts as the toddler approaches. The kid alters blueprints with crayon to include a moat, a dragon pit and four magic towers. Speculation builds that the child's grandmother is Kay Barnes.
6:35 p.m. The toddler stops at Mercy Seat and asks to see designs for "Fwee Twibet."
-- Scott Wilson
Morrissey. Wednesday, May 23, at the Uptown Theater.
Concert Review by Jason Harper
No one can say that Morrissey went about things the wrong way last night at the Uptown.
Arriving on stage in a dapper blue suit, which the nearly 50-year-old singer rapidly shed as his sweat glands kicked into fifth gear, the Moz looked like a suburban father home from a hard day at work and violently in need of a cocktail. All the chaps in the band, including guitarists Boz Boorer and Jesse Tobias, were clad in identical getups of candy blue vests and trousers and red Oxford shirts with the sleeves rolled up past the elbows. Given their youth (with the expection of Boz), they looked as if Morrissey had hand picked them from some Irish boys' bugle corps academy -- an impression that was cemented when one of the musicians blasted out a couple of solos (erring on the flat side) on trumpet and trombone. And then there was the backdrop: two giant, tiled photos of James Dean. There was a lot of lad on the stage that night.
The Kansas City Star reports that the Supersonics are in very, very preliminary talks about moving, possibly to Kansas City. We know we've been abused before by moving teams -- we're talking to you, Pittsburgh. But just in case, here are some reasons we'd like to see the Kansas City Supersonics:
10. Using an umlaut to spell Mickaël Gelabale.
9. Jesus Shuttlesworth is coming to town (Sonics guard Ray Allen starred in He Got Game).
8. Squatch!
7. Gives us a reason to play that song “Supersonic,” by overlooked 1980's girl-group J.J.Fad (the original song, not the one by Fergie).
6. Something to be excited about now that baseball season is already over. Oh, it isn’t? Damn.
5. Robert Swift will automatically be the ugliest man in KC.
4. Former Jayhawk Nick Collison can come back and hit on chicks at all his old Lawrence hangouts.
3. We don’t have to take back the Kings.
2. Sonics legend Shawn Kemp can visit his alleged illegitimate children in KC.
1. No fucking hockey!
-- Justin Kendall and Nadia Pflaum
It has been banned by YouTube and may be the subject of a copyright lawsuit. Well, now watch the Westboro Baptist Church take on “We Are the World,” titled “God Hates the World.”
I visited Mike’s Tavern Friday night for the first – and what may be the last – time. According to a message on the bar's Web site, which I posted in my weekend music forecast, the club is closing indefinitely come May 31. New owners will remodel the place. I heard rumblings from regulars, however, that the deal may have fallen through. But that could just be wishful thinking.
Not many people can count a convicted killer on their MySpace buddies list, but there are at least 32 people who have Byron Case.
Case is serving a life sentence in Cameron for the 1997 murder of Anastasia WitbolsFeugen. But he has, for the most part, the average profile of any Hot Topic-wearing, Cure-loving goth kid. His MySpace page, titled Monochrome, indicates that he likes David Lynch films, listens to Skinny Puppy and reads Philip K. Dick. He must get cable TV in his cell, because he's a fan of The Colbert Report and Mythbusters, both shows that hit the airwaves after his May 2002 conviction.
It's Case's MySpace blog that makes his profile interesting.
Beth Gottstein leads the competition for New Kansas City Council Member Most Likely to Say Something Strange.
At the May 17 business session, consultants presented an analysis of economic development in Kansas City. The analysis included examples of the tools other cities in the U.S. use to foster growth.
The consultants discussed their findings for about 30 minutes. Then Mayor Funkhouser opened up the discussion.
While Harper’s on a break from the scene, it’s up to me to point out the relevant rock going down in KC and Lawrence this weekend. You should have read up on some if it already in the Pitch music pages . For instance, on Saturday, the Replay Lounge and Jackpot Music Hall are “springing into summer” with a big old bash that spans both venues. According to earlier e-mail announcements, the party would include a buffet. But the final menu seems to offer only music. Oh, well. At least it’s cheap. For $2, you can feast your ears on Old Canes , the Appleseed Cast , In the Pines , the Esoteric and more. And rumor has it this could be the last live appearance by the Esoteric for a while; the much-troubled band is figuring out what to do next.
Aixois Brasserie celebrates first birthday in a spirited fashion
Boulevard and Sierra Nevada join forces for Terra Incognita, which hits shelves Wednesday
Jewish Family Services' food pantry now offers pet food
McDonald's sued by employee who wants a check, not a debit card
Kiss' Rock & Brews will 'Shout It Out Loud' in Overland Park in early 2014
Phoenix will headline Buzz Beach Ball in September
Infusions Grill & Bar wants you to spread 'em
Iron and Wine is coming to the Midland